Hunters, bird watchers, wildlife watchers, spectators, and others (hereafter collectively “hunters” for simplicity) who use tree-stands for hunting, wildlife observation, and other activities are familiar with the danger of falling asleep during long hours on stand. Safety harnesses for tree-stand hunters are known, generally comprising body harnesses secured to the torso and connected to the tree or to the stand to prevent falling out of the tree.
Safety harnesses will prevent a long drop to the ground if properly worn and installed, but they are not generally designed to prevent a short drop from the stand, often caused by nodding off to sleep. Instead, they are purposely designed to arrest the hunter after a short fall. Even when a safety harness fulfills its purpose by catching a hunter after he topples off the stand, there might remain some risk of injury, such as head or neck trauma from the force of being jerked to a stop or swinging into the tree; asphyxiation if tangled in equipment; heart attack; and “suspension trauma”, which apparently can occur if a hunter remains hanging legs down and relatively motionless from the harness for a long period of time.
It would be better if the hunter never fell off the stand in the first place.